Serbia takes down Germany 1-0

Published: Saturday, June 19, 2010, 11:00 [IST]

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Port Elizabeth, Jun 19: After the Spain Vs Switzerland shocker, FIFA World Cup 2010 has threw out yet another unexpected twist as Serbia thrashed Germany in the second round Group D match here on Friday, Jun 18.

The Serbs defeated Germany 1-0 in a closely contested match to take away 3 points for themselves after they were defeated by Ghana in the first round.

This came as a major shocker after Germans made quiet an entry with an impressive 4-0 bout against Australia in the opener. On the other hand, the Serbs proved why they being considered the 'dark horses' of the 19th FIFA World Cup.

Losing its star striker Miroslav Klose in the 37th minute to a red card, Germany seemed to fall apart. Just a minute after Klose's ouster, Serbia's Milan Jovanovic scored the only goal of the match.

The 10-men German squad had a lot of chances to bounce back but they seemed to be self destructive.

Lukas Podolski, who got an opportunity to level off with the Serbs with a penalty shot in 60th minute, missed it miserably and Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic turned a hero.

Besides the penalty shot, the second half was decked with many other chances in the form of corners and free kicks that could have been converted into goals. But the German 'blitzkrieg' failed to break the Serbian wall of defence and captain Philipp Lahm also disappointed.

This is the first time Germany lost in group stage since 1986. In yet another embarrassing record-breaker for the Germans, the team has never missed penalty in regular World Cup play since 1974.

But for the Serbians, this win was the first against Germany in 37 years.

The Swiss breaking down Spain in the opener and the Serbians humbling Germans makes one wonder if this World Cup is going to be the 'world cup of the underdogs'.